We tried, without much success, to get a shot of new panels... so thanks to Salim for getting the job done today.
BTW, U.K.-based artist Nick Walker joined Tats Cru to do the panel on the far left.
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Tuesday's parting shot
April 15
However green it looks, the reader who shared the photo reported the tree was quite dry. Perhaps it has been colored?
So long — smell ya later!
Thanks to our friends at DeColores Community Yard for the top pic and Joann Falkenburg for the second photo!
Tompkins Square Park Field House officially reopens after renovations (and you won't recognize the restrooms)
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
After more than 18 months of renovations, the field house and restrooms at Tompkins Square Park officially reopened yesterday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on an actual spring-like day.
Susan Donoghue, NYC Department of Parks commissioner, along with other Parks officials, local elected officials, and Community Board reps, did the honors...
The reconstruction of the field house that serves the 10.5-acre park included a complete renovation of the building's interior and exterior, upgrading all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Accessibility improvements feature reconfigured layouts, new entryways, ADA-compliant ramps, and renovated restrooms and maintenance areas. The mayor's office funded the $5.6 million renovations.
While the ceremony was still wrapping up, neighborhood kids were already making themselves at home near the Slocum Memorial Fountain, and visitors wasted no time enjoying the newly accessible space.
Overall, the mood was upbeat and even celebratory. After a long stretch of construction and closed-off areas, residents seemed pleased to reclaim one of the East Village's most active public spaces.
And now, join us in a moment of silence... we appreciated your service...
Monday, April 14, 2025
Monday's parting shot
Photo by William Klayer
The spring scene outside McSorley’s today on Seventh Street...
The Tompkins Square Park field house and restrooms are back in service
EVG's Stacie Joy was at this afternoon's ribbon-cutting ceremony... we'll post the photos and a recap in the morning.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially unveil the renovated Tompkins Square Park field house
Top photos from Saturday
To mark the occasion, there's a ribbon-cutting ceremony today (Monday!) at 3 p.m. featuring Susan Donoghue, NYC Department of Parks commissioner, and several local elected officials. The public is invited to the event on the Ninth Street transverse between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Look for the giant ceremonial scissors.)
The reconstruction of the field house that serves the 10.5-acre park included a complete renovation of the building's interior and exterior, upgrading all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Accessibility improvements feature reconfigured layouts, new entryways, ADA-compliant ramps, and renovated restrooms and maintenance areas.
The mayor's office funded the $5.6 million renovations, which were much needed because the field house rarely had heat or hot water, and the restrooms made a strong case for exorcism before plumbing.
The space, which includes the Slocum Memorial Fountain, has been closed to the public during renovations.
Here's a look (through the gate) at the area behind the field house from last week ...
The Tompkins Square Park mini pool (yes, Tompkins has a pool) was also out of commission for two consecutive summers. However, the pool was not part of the renovation project, as you can see from this photo from last week...
Expect a new pool in the years ahead, though. Last August, Gov. Hochul announced nearly $150 million in capital grants to fund 37 projects as part of the New York Statewide Investment in More Swimming (NY SWIMS) initiative.
Tompkins Square Park will receive $6.1 million for a new in-ground pool, which will double the current capacity of the above-ground model for children and their guardians. The project's start date has not been announced.
Another bubble tea option for St. Mark's Place
The brand has 1,000-plus locations worldwide selling a variety of teas, including bubble tea.
Per their website:
ChaHalo is a tea culture-related brand based on Eastern culture and concentrate the poetic and leisurely atmosphere of Chang'An into a cup of Chinese tea, sharing the leisurely and magnificent Eastern culture with the world.
The shop will be in a lower-level space in the retail strip between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...
Plywood report outside the former Crocodile Lounge on 14th Street
In recent weeks, workers have placed green plywood over part of the front, including the retail space. A few readers asked what was happening with that storefront, previously home to the Crocodile Lounge.
Nothing too revealing in public records, where work permits show wiring for the basement retail space (marked as "white box") and walk-in cooler.
As previously reported, in a transaction posted in October, an LLC connected to The Sabet Group bought the four-story building for $3.3 million, down from its initial $5.5 million ask.
For generations, a family has owned the building known as The James McCreery House.
The retail space has been home to restaurants for many years, including Il Faro and, in the 1990s, Manila Garden. The place was the Crocodile Lounge in recent years, which never reopened after the COVID shutdown in March 2020.
Daytonian in Manhattan has some history of No. 325 at this link.
Sunday, April 13, 2025
Week in Grieview
• Leadership dispute erupts at the Sixth Street Community Center as longtime executive director dismissed (Thursday)
• East Village musician Jesse Malin bringing his life story to the Gramercy Theatre (Wednesday)
• Saved from the dumpster: Classic Lower East Side signage rescued (Wednesday)
• A visit to Holographic Studios on 2nd Street (Tuesday)
• Why an East Village business chose a modified shipping container for its curbside service (Thursday)
• Brooklyn's Maya Taqueria is bringing California-style tacos to Avenue A (Wednesday)
• New East Village café aims to blend coffee and creativity (Monday)
• First look at the revamped dog café Boris & Horton (Friday)
• A Record Store Day appreciation of East Village record stores (Saturday)
• Angels on A has closed (Tuesday)
• Fancy Juice moving up 1st Avenue (Monday)
• On Avenue B, Green Line gets trimmed (Friday)
• Would Chelsea and Rick from season 3 of 'The White Lotus' live in the East Village? (Sunday)
• Openings: Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao on Houston Street (Tuesday)
The tariff economy at Economy Candy
Closer to home, an Associated Press article from Monday on 88-year-old LES institution Economy Candy titled "Trump's tariffs hit a sour note in landmark NYC emporium of sweets" made the rounds.
An excerpt:
Stepping into Economy Candy feels like a time warp. Its name is emblazoned on a sign in a vintage, blaring red script, and crossing below its green-and-white striped awning, past the bins of Smarties, butterscotches and Lemonheads in the front window, an indecipherable sweetness fills the air, oldies music sounds overhead and customers mill around stacks of candy bars they forgot still existed.It represents just a blip in the country's $54 billion candy industry. But it was already feeling the weight of surges in prices of cocoa and other ingredients before tariffs were layered on.Candy and gum prices are up about 34% from five years ago and 89% from 2005, according to Consumer Price Index data. Price, according to the National Confectioners Association, has become the top factor in consumers' candy purchase decisions, outweighing a buyer's mood.
Still, owner Mitchell Cohen...
... wore a smile anyway. He wants this to be a happy place for visitors.
"You travel back to a time when nothing mattered," Cohen says, "when you didn't worry about anything."
You can read the full article here.
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Saturday's parting shot
A Record Store Day appreciation of East Village record stores
Photos by Stacie Joy
Record Store Day (RSD) — the annual celebration of independent record shops — is happening today.
As always, vinyl enthusiasts can look forward to limited-edition releases from artists across various genres, as well as special reissues (and reissues of reissues) and previously unreleased recordings.
The East Village has several great record stores... and we like them all.
On 12th Street, Academy LPs stopped taking part in RSD last year. (They do the big $1 bin sale at the Brooklyn annex.) The offshoot of Academy Records on 18th Street first appeared in 2001 on 10th Street and Fourth Avenue before settling into its current location between Avenue A and First Avenue in 2008.
These first photos are all from Academy the other week...
Also, a shout-out to the excellent A-1 Records on Sixth Street (thanks to Jeremie for letting us take the pic)... the shop turns 30 next year...
Here are all the full-time local record stores... all excellent in their own ways. (And as far as we know, Limited to One is the lone RSD participant. Details here.)
439 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue
415 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue
32 E. Second St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery
221 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue
220 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue
218 E. Fifth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square
Saturday's opening shot
Friday, April 11, 2025
Friday's parting shot
Photo by Stacie Joy
On Houston and B... a countdown no one is particularly excited about...
Be 'Afraid'
Torture and the Desert Spiders, "a left-field garage project based around the songwriting" of the Brooklyn-based Anna Kunz, has several shows coming up in the neighborhood, including Wednesday at Mercury Lounge and a residency at Baker Falls (April 22 and 29). Check them out.
The video here is for the track "Sinéad, I'm Afraid."
An oppportunity to decorate Ukrainian Easter eggs
Attendees use dyes, beeswax, and a stylus (all provided) to decorate the eggs with traditional Ukrainian designs. You get to keep what you make.
The event, which will last from noon to 5 p.m. and include several food vendors, will be held at the Ukrainian National Home, second floor, 140 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.
Details are on the above flyer.
On Avenue B, Green Line gets trimmed
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
We heard that several (unlicensed) local smoke shops were busted yesterday by local law enforcement (a multiagency raid under the New York City Sheriff's Joint Compliance Task Force).
Among them: Green Line at 42 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street.
Police said there weren't any arrests. Summons were issued, and some merch was seized.
Per a Green Line employee: "They didn't find anything — just Juul pods and cigarettes and stuff. So, we're good. The store is open again!"
First look at the revamped dog café Boris & Horton, which debuts tomorrow on Avenue A
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Boris & Horton, New York City's first dog café when it opened in 2018, is back — this time with new ownership and a fresh vision for its future.
After announcing its closure last November, former owners Logan Mikhly and Coppy Holzman left the door open for someone new to take over. Brooklyn resident Carol Krakowski has stepped in, reopening the café tomorrow (April 12) on Avenue A at 12th Street with a renewed focus on service and community.
Krakowski, who has a dog named Baja, originally planned to start a dog business of her own. When she learned Boris & Horton was available, she saw an opportunity to build on what existed.
"We hit it off," she said of her early conversations with the previous owners. "I'm thrilled to be here."
Krakowski is joined by general manager Ben Kaufman, an East Village resident (and his dog Mufasa). Together, they're introducing several changes while maintaining the café's original charm.
The name, branding, and dog-friendly mission remain, but guests will notice a new menu, hospitality-focused service, and minor tweaks to make the space more welcoming.
"We want to give the community a third space," Krakowski said.
Dogs are still welcome — provided they're well-socialized and up-to-date on vaccinations. There's a $5 flat service fee for the dog-friendly side of the café, which is waived for members. Memberships include unlimited visits. Laptops are discouraged in the dog area, especially after 5 p.m. and on weekends, to encourage social interaction.
The café will serve coffee from Devoción and feature local vendors such as Little Chonk, known for its dog bags.
The fully electric kitchen will offer items like a breakfast burrito with chorizo, maduros, and aji verde; arepas; salads; and sandwiches on housemade sourdough focaccia, affectionately named after its starter, "Benedict Sourbatch."
For dogs, the menu includes "Barkuterie Boards" with butcher cuts, pupper cups, and treats.
Addressing past concerns from the community over the previous ownership's fundraising efforts, Krakowski said, "I hope people are open to giving us a chance. We want the lovers to love it — and for others to know that I am a new owner."
Kaufman added, "Carol is separate. We're doing something new."
The grand reopening is tomorrow (Saturday, April 12!).
Boris & Horton will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can follow them on Instagram here.
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